The bonding of carbon and optical isomerism

The bonding of carbon:

Carbon has four valence electrons. For Carbon to fulfil octet rule it binds to four additional electrons.

By that, carbon can form single, double and triple bonds to achieve filled octet. The possible bonding combination for carbon are:

Carbon atoms may be bonded to each other or to other nonmetal atoms, such as hydrogen, a halogen, oxygen, or nitrogen.

                          

Optical isomerism of carbon:

A chiral molecule/ion is non-superposable on its mirror image.

Carbon characterized by its ability to form compounds with optical isomerism. The chiral carbon atom means, carbon has four different substitution. The carbon atom is considered to be “Achiral” if the carbon atom has similar substitution. The presence of an asymmetric carbon centre is one of several structural features that induce chirality in organic and inorganic molecules.